Progression
by Amia Konoai
Summary: Alyx and Gordon have always had a special connection, but their relationship changes just as much as their lives. Eventual Alyx/Gordon, just kinda general for now.
1. Chapter 1

_This is going to be Alyx/Gordon eventually. Uh...yeah. I don't know what else to say, other than please review so I can be better. D:_

* * *

Gordon Freeman had never really enjoyed being around young children, but his co-worker's daughter seemed to take an interest in him. Eli's daughter, Alyx, was three years old when Gordon started working at Black Mesa. She was obviously very intelligent, already reading at a level far above her age, but she was very stubborn. Gordon supposed she got that from her father.

Each time Gordon had been at Eli and Azian's place for dinner, Alyx had thrown a fit when her parents asked her to go to bed. She would stamp her foot, cross her arms, and have a very serious look on her face for a child so young. Her mother would give her the same look, and they would face off for as many as twenty minutes, neither party saying anything. The first time this happened, Gordon felt uncomfortable, but Eli found it amusing, so he quickly became used to it. Alyx usually got her way, but a couple times Gordon could tell she actually was tired, and she silently put herself to sleep.

But the main thing that Gordon thought stuck out about Alyx is how much she disliked people other than her parents and Dr. Kleiner. Whenever her father brought her along to visit Dr. Magnusson or Breen, she would cause any kind of trouble possible. She often broke or threw to the ground as many things as she could, and always laughed when the doctors would become flustered. Her affection towards Kleiner was the same as towards her parents; she would smile and usually did what she was told (unless she didn't think it would benefit her). The way Alyx treated Gordon, however, was different, and everyone noticed it. When he was around, she would be quiet, and would usually look at him with her big brown eyes in awe. It made him feel uncomfortable, yet important.

One time, when Eli and Azian were going on a date, Eli asked Gordon to babysit Alyx for them. Azian was hesitant to let a man babysit her daughter, but Eli convinced her that Gordon would never do anything to hurt Alyx. Gordon was hesitant himself, having little experience watching children, but he didn't want to let his friend down, so he agreed to babysit. When he arrived at their quarters, Alyx was sitting on the couch, her little legs barely curving over the edge. She had a book in her lap, with many more in a crate next to her.

"We already gave her dinner, and those books should be all you need to keep her occupied for a few hours," Eli told Gordon. Gordon nodded and waved to the couple as they walked out the door. Alyx hadn't noticed him yet, so he walked over to the couch and sat down. She looked up at him, eyes wide with what appeared to be admiration. He smiled at her, hoping he didn't look scary. Gordon was relieved when Alyx smiled back at him, her eyes softening a bit. She went back to reading her book.

"Whatcha got there?" Gordon asked in his quiet voice. Alyx closed the book and handed it to him, watching his reaction. It was "The Lorax". "This is one of my favorites," he commented, adding a smile.

"It's one of my favorites, too," Alyx said bashfully, not looking at Gordon while she talked. She grabbed the crate of books and put it on his lap, suddenly looking at him eagerly, obviously wanting him to look through the books and choose one. He flipped through them and stopped when he came to "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish". Gordon was about to hand the book to Alyx when he noticed that she had turned to face him and was now sitting cross-legged on the couch, eagerly smiling. She nodded to the book, so he opened it with a small sigh. He had never been good at reading things out loud, as he didn't like to speak very loudly. Nonetheless, Gordon began reading the book to his friend's daughter. Although he would never admit it, he was a little bit afraid of what Alyx would have done if he refused to read the book to her.

Gordon started out in his soft voice, reading in a sort of monotone way. He eventually tried using different voices, and after glancing at Alyx to see her reaction, he realized she was enjoying the book more now. This made Gordon feel a little more confident, so he gradually became more and more theatrical in his reading of the popular Dr. Seuss book. By the time he finished the book, Alyx was giggling, trying to cover up the smile on her face. Gordon blushed a little bit, but laughed along with her.

"You're pretty good at reading stuff, Mister Gordon," Alyx said, once her giggling had died down. This made Gordon smile, and he said a quiet 'thank you'. The next thing he knew, Alyx had climbed onto his lap, grabbing another book and handing it to him. He took it and opened it, holding it in front of himself and Alyx, his arms keeping her from falling off his lap. They continued this – Alyx choosing a book, making Gordon read it, all while sitting on his lap – until they ran out of books. As they finished the very last one, the front door opened and Eli and Azian were home.

"Aww, does this mean Mister Gordon has to leave now?" Alyx whined, pouting at her parents.

"Yes, honey, it does," Azian said, "and you need to go to bed." At this, Alyx pouted even more, crossing her arms and looking angrily at her mother.

"It's okay, Alyx," Gordon assured, "I can come back again some other time." She turned to him, and he smiled, encouraging her to go with her mother. Alyx eventually complied and allowed Azian to pluck her from Gordon's lap and take her to her bedroom. Gordon stood from the couch, stretching, a smile on his face. On the other hand, Eli had a shocked look on his face.

"Was she…really sitting on your lap?" he asked.

"Uh…yes?"

"And she didn't want you to leave."

"Nope."

"Well, Gordon, I guess you're our new permanent babysitter," Eli said, shaking his head. He laughed and said, "She has never, ever treated a babysitter so well. You must have a way with kids, because aside from us and Izzy, Alyx doesn't seem to like anyone!" Gordon just shrugged, surprised himself. Usually children were afraid of him. He figured it was either the glasses, the goatee, or both.

"I don't know, Eli."


	2. Chapter 2

_Here's chapter two. It isn't very long, but this seemed like a natural stopping point. Another note - I'm pretty sure that Alyx doesn't actually know Gordon is in stasis (maybe she does, I can't remember), but I included it just for the sake of my story._

_Alright, now get to reading and reviewing!_

* * *

Day after day, they fought against the Combine. Day after day, Eli Vance held out hope that their only hope, Gordon Freeman, would return and save them. Plenty of people thought he was dead, but he knew the truth – Gordon was in stasis. He only wished Gordon would be out of stasis before their world completely collapsed.

All of this information was passed to Alyx. She didn't know why her father insisted that Gordon Freeman was their only hope. From what she remembered of him, he wouldn't be of any significant help – after all, what exactly could one pale, bespectacled, red-headed scientist do to save the world? It's not that she had anything against him; on the contrary, Alyx had fond memories of the scientist. She just didn't know why he was so important, and she figured her father didn't really know why, either.

One of Alyx's earliest memories was of Gordon. Just a few days before the Black Mesa incident, according to her father, he had been her babysitter. She remembered feeling in awe of him, not disliking him, as she so disliked nearly everyone else. There was something incredibly special about him, and apparently even a three-year-old Alyx could tell. That night, Gordon had read nearly her entire book collection to her. She remembered how his voice started off so quietly, but progressed into something even more booming than her father's voice. He was an amazing storyteller, and that was the only thing Alyx remembered about him.

Gordon had told her he would come back and visit again, and for the entire time she was with her parents up until the incident, she asked when Mister Gordon would be coming back over. Twenty years later, she still hadn't seen him. Whenever he did come out of stasis, Alyx vowed to pester him into reading a book to her – after the war died down, of course.

Suddenly, one day, they got word of Gordon being in City 17. Barney had apparently pulled him aside just before he was about to board a train to Nova Prospekt. Alyx shook her head at the scientist's ignorance of the new way of living. Everyone knew Nova Prospekt was where people were taken to become Stalkers, but she supposed Gordon would learn soon enough.

Eli had Alyx go to Kleiner's lab to wait for Gordon's arrival. She felt butterflies in her stomach, anxious to see the man who she had heard so much about. When he didn't show up for nearly an hour, she became worried that he had gotten killed. After all, he didn't have his famous HEV suit on, so it would be easy for the Combine to take him down. Fearing the worst, she set out to find him, taking the elevator to the level where Gordon would be arriving.

As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, Alyx knew something was wrong. She heard the squawks of CP voices and some grunting, so she quickly lured them towards her. Taking out her gun, she easily shot all of them before rounding the corner and seeing Gordon Freeman passed out on the ground. He looked just as she remembered him, but wearing civilian clothes instead of a lab coat or HEV suit. Alyx knelt next to Gordon and slapped his face a few times to wake him. His eyes opened slowly; his hands reached for his face to adjust his glasses. Alyx smiled down at him.

"Doctor Freeman, I presume?"


	3. Chapter 3

_Alright, just a few minutes later, we have chapter three! I cut out a lot of things, due to the fact that I'm bad at remembering details and they generally don't have much to do with the story I want to write. I'll get to more Alyx/Gordon stuff soon. Promise._

* * *

_How did I get here? Why am I on a train?_

Gordon was puzzled, but he decided not to ask any of the other passengers what he was doing there or where he was going. When they pulled into the station, he followed them where they were going, eventually wandering around to where he thought he was supposed to go. Some weird looking people in masks waved him through with their batons, so he went through. Suddenly, another person came out of a door and took him back to a little room.

"About that beer I owe ya…" Barney announced, taking off his mask. Gordon grinned at the sight of his old friend. They did a little fist bump before Barney showed him to a screen. He talked to Doctor Kleiner, and then he shoved Gordon out of the room, telling him to leave and find his way to Kleiner's lab. Before he had a chance to ask where in the hell he was supposed to go, the door was slammed in his face. Frustrated, but never one to back down from a challenge, Gordon climbed up some boxes before jumping out of a window to the ground.

As he wandered around City 17, hoping he was heading in the right direction, Gordon thought about anything he could remember. The last thing he remembered was being on the planet Xen, and then something a little hazy with a man dressed in a suit. The more he thought about it, the more he remembered. He was "under contract" and had been put in stasis for a while – he guessed around twenty years, from the looks of Barney and Kleiner. Twenty years…the earth looked much different, and there were tons of masked soldiers or officers standing around. Gordon wondered what had happened, but figured he shouldn't ask any of the masked people.

His next thought turned to his old friend, Eli Vance. Gordon hoped he had made it out alive, hopefully with his daughter and wife. It seemed like just yesterday he had read books to a young Alyx Vance, but twenty years probably did a lot to her. _Wait…had Kleiner mentioned Eli?_ He wondered. _I guess I should stop spacing out…but everything's confusing when you've been asleep for twenty years._ Gordon hoped he had heard correctly. Just as he finished his thought, he came down some stairs and was confronted by a group of masked soldiers. They didn't seem very happy to see him, and he tried to back up as they beat him with their batons, but it was no use.

Collapsing to the ground, Gordon prayed that he would live, now really wishing he had his HEV suit. He felt himself slipping, and the last thing he heard before passing out was an aggressive, but slightly teasing shout of, "Hey, over here!"

xxx

Gordon opened his eyes, automatically adjusting his glasses. When his eyes began to focus, he saw a face above him.

"Doctor Freeman, I presume?"

He felt himself being pulled up, and nodded. Was this Alyx Vance?

Gordon's question was answered as she led him to an elevator.

"I'm Alyx Vance. You used to work with my father at Black Mesa? You probably don't remember me…" Alyx said, rubbing the back of her neck in a shy way that Gordon thought was cute. He nodded. "Man of few words, I see." Gordon just smiled.

Alyx led him to Kleiner's office, showing him through a hollowed-out soda machine. As he followed behind her, Gordon couldn't help but notice the curves she had developed since he last saw her. It felt wrong to think about her in a sexual way, seeing as the last time they were together, she was only three years old. However, when they walked into the lab, Kleiner said something that surprised him.

"You look like you haven't aged a day!"

Gordon was shocked, but he supposed that being in stasis probably helped slow the aging process. This made him feel like a little less of a pervert, realizing that he and Alyx were essentially the same age, but it was still weird to find someone he could only imagine as a three-year-old attractive. He blushed as he thought about this, never feeling comfortable around attractive women.

After putting on his HEV suit, Kleiner made another comment, saying that the suit still fit Gordon like a glove. This solidified even more the fact that Gordon had not changed in twenty years.

As Barney, Kleiner and Alyx talked, Gordon once again spaced out. He wasn't paying attention to anything they said, instead looking around the lab, taking in everything that he had missed. Suddenly, a wall opened up and they all walked in to the teleporter room. Gordon's eyes widened. He knew Black Mesa had been working on teleportation, but he never thought Eli and Kleiner would make it this advanced. As the machine warmed up, he heard Barney fretting about a cat, but he figured it was just another of his crazy notions.

Gordon watched Alyx ascend up the teleporter, and as things began to spin on the machine, he realized he was worried about her. Before he knew it, she was gone, appearing on the screen with her father. Gordon was relieved that he could see so many people from Black Mesa in one place, but he realized Azian was missing from the picture. This saddened him, but he figured it was a miracle that the five of them had even made it out.

When it was his turn to get in the teleporter, Gordon's thoughts returned to the cat Barney had mentioned, but he didn't worry too much. However, the next thing he knew, a headcrab leapt onto him and some wires fell down. He was teleported to some random places, seeing some strange colors in front of his eyes, but he just stayed still. Eventually, he was released from the teleportation sequence onto a walkway looking into the lab he was just in. Everyone inside was confused, and told him where to go. He met Barney below another walkway, and Barney reunited him with his one true friend – the crowbar.

_Now, _he thought, _I'm unstoppable._


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks to Angela Kip for the reviews and advice! I hope this chapter feels less rushed, and I hope it's enjoyable. Review, please!_

* * *

Alyx thought Gordon was pretty cute. She didn't realize it when she was three, because, well, she was three, but now that she was (technically) about the same age as him, she realized that he was attractive. His red hair, goatee, and glasses somehow worked for him. He also appeared well-built, probably because the last two days he had actually been living, he was fighting off aliens along with soldiers sent to silence him.

As she led Gordon into the elevator, she wasn't sure of how well he remembered her, so she awkwardly introduced herself. The way he smiled and nodded indicated that he actually did remember her. When they stepped out of the elevator and Alyx showed him the way to Kleiner's lab, she could feel that he was staring at her, and a quick, sneaky glance backwards confirmed it. Alyx knew that she was attractive (many of the Resistance boys confirmed this by constantly hitting on her), but she felt different when she caught Gordon looking at her. It seemed like he was intrigued by her, or something of the sort.

When they got to Kleiner's lab, Gordon put on his HEV suit after Barney showed it to him. Alyx liked a man in a suit…not usually this kind of suit, but it would work. Alyx climbed into the teleporter first, feeling kind of awkward as she rose up higher and higher, feeling like she was being put on a pedestal. She looked down and saw Gordon watching her, with something close to nervousness in his eyes. She smiled at him, almost winked at him, but stopped herself. The next thing Alyx knew, she was in her father's lab again. She walked to the monitor and waved at everyone along with her dad.

Now it was Gordon's turn to be teleported. Alyx watched him walk to the teleporter, and waited patiently, expecting him to come through to their end at any second. She heard a weird noise through the monitor, and Kleiner shouted about something going wrong. Suddenly, Gordon appeared in their teleporter, but he was surrounded by bright lights, and it was almost as if he was a hologram. Alyx ran to him, confused, but before she could reach him he was teleported away. She looked to her dad in fear, but he just seemed amused.

"Well, that's odd. But Gordon's tough. He'll be fine, honey, don't worry." Eli assured. He could tell by the slightly embarrassed look on his daughter's face that she was already developing feelings for his old friend. He was afraid of this happening, but at the same time, he was excited at the chance of having grandchildren. _Don't get ahead of yourself, Eli,_ he thought. _You don't even know how Gordon feels about her_. Nonetheless, he was excited.

xxx

Later in the day, Gordon finally arrived at her Eli's lab. It took him a while, but once again, he didn't really know his way around. Alyx was relieved, but also disappointed that Judith Mossman had welcomed him instead of her. She saw that Judith appeared to be eyeing Gordon, as well, and she felt even more resentment towards her. They may have been born around the same time, but Gordon had been in stasis and was now much closer in age to Alyx. _So back off, Mossman,_ Alyx thought. The venom with which this thought crossed her mind shocked her. She was typically a possessive person, but she had basically just met Gordon, and she didn't really know much about him. So why did she want him all to herself?

Alyx shook her head, trying to push away thoughts of Gordon. She occupied herself with fixing some things in her father's lab. When her father made a comment about Alyx being the only thing Gordon couldn't handle, she felt embarrassed, but when Gordon smiled and blushed, she felt a little better.

Judith began arguing with Alyx again, and Eli noticed, so he told her to show Gordon the gravity gun. Relieved at the chance to be away from Judith, Alyx gladly led him out and to the gun. She hefted the gravity gun up into her arms, passing it to Gordon.

"You can call it the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator if you really want to," Alyx said with a smirk. She was surprised at how easily Gordon held onto the gravity gun, before realizing it was mostly because of his HEV suit. She was also surprised that her last joke hadn't even made him smile.

Alyx watched as Gordon tested the gun, at first with an intense look of concentration; eventually with a smile on his face. His smile made her smile, and she felt herself becoming embarrassed again, so she called D0g over. As D0g played catch with Gordon, she sat and watched them, smiling once again at the look of enjoyment on Gordon's face. She was beginning to feel comfortable, and was about to make a comment to Gordon about how much he was enjoying the game of catch, but she suddenly heard an explosion.

"Oh my god, what was that?" Alyx said in a panic. "Scanners! Combine are sweeping the area!" She hopped down from her post and ran to Gordon, pulling him back towards where they entered from. "Come on, Gordon!"

After escaping from the airlock, the three ran through the corridors, trying to make their way back to the lab. Before Alyx knew what was happening, she heard the ceiling crumble to the ground behind her, narrowly missing Gordon. With panic in her eyes, she looked through a gap in the rocks and told D0g to take Gordon to the Ravenholm tunnel. She took one last look at Gordon, seeing an expression that was not scared for him as much as concerned for her, and turned to head the other direction.


End file.
